Joel Quenneville back in the central will be frustrating for the Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks new season will be challenging, but having one man back in the same division will make things more frustrating than it needs to be.

The Chicago Blackhawks era of success is best known by one man, Joel Quenneville. Coach Q led the ‘Hawks to a 452-249-96 record over the course of his 11 years with the team. Q has more experience behind the bench than the Blackhawks’ entire coaching staff, and he is the second-most winningest coach of all-time in NHL history.

The fact that Chicago let coach Q go annoys me to the core, and it is just frustrating knowing the ‘Hawks legend could still be with the team. When the team is not going to be the best on the ice, having Q back in the same division is not going to make things easier.

Ever since Joel Quenneville signed with the Florida Panthers as their head coach, I have been rooting for him. I still will this season. But that won’t make it any less frustrating watching the Blackhawks struggle and seeing one of the brightest pieces of their success behind another team’s bench.

Stan Bowman and the entire front office probably had a huge sigh of relief when Quenneville signed as the head coach of the Florida Panthers, a team very far away at the time and a team in a completely different conference.

Now having him back in the central might bring back some old wounds as Chicago will play the Panthers six times this season. During a time when Bowman is trying to build up any form of credibility and trust between the fans and himself, having Q being mentioned more often will only highlight one of the Blackhawks’ worst moves, in my opinion.

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The Blackhawks’ downfall was not Joel Quenneville’s fault, and coaches like him do not grow on trees. While I understand that sometimes a team needs a change in direction and that Jeremy Colliton needs a little more time before any change will be made behind the Blackhawks bench, Quenneville on the other side of the ice will only remind fans of what once was. It also highlights what could have been if the Blackhawks did not fire one of the best coaches in the history of the game.